Mini outlasts modern day equivalents

With over 5 million sold, it's not hard to see that the original style Mini has always been regarded as the original Hot Hatch to which all other small cars are compared. Following the revolutionary engineering designs pioneered by the Mini, many successful Hot Hatches have been marketed. None more so than the Peugeot 205GTi, regarded as the current King of Hot Hatches. The 205GTi owes a lot of it's design to the Mini with its two door, two box body style and front wheel drive with a wheel at each corner.

However after 10 years of production the 205GTi is being discontinued due to declining sales (a hefty price tag might have something to do with that).

In contrast the Mini is still going strong, with Rover currently producing over 45,000 cars per year with about 12,000 of those cars being exported in a coals to Newcastle arrangement to Japan. In fact the demand for Minis and after-market performance products is so strong that many of the famous names in Mini modifications from the Sixties have made a comeback. John Cooper, Jack Knight and Marcos Cars are all now producing Mini tuning kits and specials for the Japanese market.

Rover has been very active in marketing the Mini and frequently release special edition models with various colour schemes and accessories.

by Dean Cording

|  Main Menu   |  What Is A Mini  |